Swiss mining giant Xstrata plc has seen profits slip 77 per cent through the first half of 2009 against the same period the previous year, due in part to the low price of nickel, lower volumes and rising inflation.
Xstrata, which is active in the nickel and copper camps in Sudbury and Timmins, saw profits sink to $643 million, down from $2.8 billion in the first half of 2008, according to mid-year financial reports published August 4.
This is due in part to slipping revenues, which sagged 39 per cent, from $16 billion in the first half of 2008 to $9.9 billion in the first half of 2009.
"As stock markets rebound and achieve significant gains, it would be tempting to believe that the world is returning to pre-financial crisis conditions," said Xstrata CEO Mick Davis in the report.
"However, until U.S. consumers emerge from the current deep recession to resume expenditure and consumption in any meaningful way or domestic consumption in China of similar power emerges, I fear that this belief is somewhat premature. As an industry, it is important to remember that a full recovery is not yet definitively under way as we execute our plans for the future."
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